The Miracle of Self-discipline
“There are a thousand excuses for failure but never a good reason.”
—MARK TWAIN
Why are some people more successful than others? Why do some people make more money, live happier lives, and accomplish much more in the same number of years than the great majority? What is the real “secret of success?” This is the question you must ask yourself sometimes. Fortunately, there are answers to these questions.
Both the successful person and unsuccessful person have different habits. We all have goals, dreams, plans, things we want to have in the future. And the good news is we all know what we should do to achieve those great things. But the unsuccessful person now, always procrastinate. Brian Tracy describe this condition as the "Someday Isle". That person is always saying maybe, Someday i will work, someday i will do this and that. And whats keeping them on the Someday Isle are Excuses. I can't do this because i don't have enough time, or money, or enough knowledge.
The first rule of success is to vote yourself out of that Isle. Do it or don't do it, it's that simple. Stop wasting your time trying to make up excuses for not acting up. It has been said that if people use the energy they use to create excuses to do more productive work, they will actually suprise themselves. Get rid of excuses if you can by any way. You don't have enough time, make up time. You don't have enough knowledge, make time to learn about whatever it is you want to do.
Many artists, writers, poets, philosophers have passed by with their methods of succeeding in life. But one common characteristic amongst these thousand rules was Self-discipline. Is it the key to great success, and without it nothing lasts. Now what is self discipline after all. Have any idea?
Brian Tracy describes Self-discipline as the ability to do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.
With self-discipline, the average person can rise as far and as fast as his talents and intelligence can take him. But without self-discipline, a person with every blessing of background, education, and opportunity will seldom rise above mediocrity.
Another definition of self-discipline is self-mastery. Success is possible only when you can master your own emotions, appetites, and inclinations. People who lack the ability to master their appetites become weak and dissolute, as well as unreliable in other things as well.
Self-discipline can also be defined as self-control. Your ability to control yourself and your actions, control what you say and do, and ensure that your behaviors are consistent with your long-term goals and objectives is the mark of the superior person.
Discipline has been defined as self-denial. This requires that you deny yourself the easy pleasures, the temptations that lead so many people astray, and instead discipline yourself to do only those things that you know are right for the long term and appropriate for the moment. Self-discipline requires delayed gratification, the ability to put off satisfaction in the short term in order to enjoy greater rewards in the long term.
It is hard to form the habits of self-discipline, self-mastery, and self-control, but once you have developed them, they become automatic and easy to practice. The best news is that all habits are learnable. You can learn any habit you need to learn in order to become the kind of person that you want to become. You can become an excellent person by practicing self-discipline whenever it is called for.
There is a direct relationship between self-discipline and self-esteem:
• The more you practice self-mastery and self-control, the more you like and value yourself;
• The more you discipline yourself, the greater is your sense of self-respect and personal pride;
• The more you practice self-discipline, the better is your self-image. You see yourself and think about yourself in a more positive way. You feel happier and more powerful as a person.
The development and maintenance of the habit of self-discipline are a lifelong task, an ongoing battle. It never ends.
Self-discipline is the key to self-esteem, self-respect, and personal pride. The development of self-discipline is your guarantee that you will eventually overcome all your obstacles and create a wonderful life for yourself.
"The ability to practice self-discipline is the real reason why some people are more successful and happy than others." - Brian Tracy
